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Washington University students Joseph Cavanagh, left, and Madeline Thoman stand in for vice presidential candidates Joe Biden and Sarah Palin as fellow student Danielle Porter fills in for moderator Gwen Ifill as final checks are made for the vice presidential debate Wednesday, Oct. 1, 2008, at Washington University in St. Louis.
AP Photo

Biden’s focus, the source said, will be "making the case for Obama — not against Palin."

As difficult as it may seem given her recent public performances, aides to Biden are casting Palin as a knife-fighter who shredded debate foes in Alaska.

"I think Gov. Palin will do well. She's good with the proverbial knife and she can deliver a prepared one-liner and quick jab very effectively. She's a former broadcast journalist who excels on television, and she's a career politician who climbed the ladder by out-debating political legends in Alaska," said Biden spokesman David Wade.

"There's a reason they call her barracuda," added another Obama aide, taking the expectation-setting to an even higher level.

The expectations game conceals an underlying reality. Obama's camp chose Biden as a running mate in part because he can be an electrifying, passionate presence on television, one who regularly won post-debate focus groups and snap polls in the primaries, and one who has used his (earned) reputation for gaffes to good comic effect. Palin, by contrast, was chosen for her symbolism and her stump speeches — not for her mastery of the unpredictable formats of interviews and debates.

Biden's sister and longtime political confidante, Valerie, who was Granholm's media consultant in both her gubernatorial races, was instrumental in bringing in the Michigan governor, who an Obama aide described as a "stellar" debater who "crushed" rivals in 2002 and 2006.

Biden has also been honing his strong-woman debate skills not only by tapping Granholm as a Palin proxy, but also by consulting Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer, both of California, in the past few weeks, aides said. Biden communications director Ricki Seidman, who held senior positions in the first-term Clinton White House and directed the former president’s 1992 campaign “War Room,” also played a key role in Biden’s debate workouts.

Other top Democrats playing a role include Obama’s chief strategist David Axelrod, former top Gore aide Ron Klain and Patti Solis Doyle, Hillary Clinton’s onetime campaign manager. The dry runs are taking place at a Sheraton Suites hotel in Wilmington in a converted gym, where two podiums have been set up.

Biden is also spending a lot of time at home and with his family. His son, who serves in the Delaware Army National Guard, deploys Friday for Iraq, and it's Joe Biden's last extended stay at home before the final sprint.

Most vice presidential debates have little impact on the outome of the election. While Lloyd Bentsen’s memorable smackdown of Dan Quayle — “You’re no Jack Kennedy” — is reliably repeated every four years, the reality is that George H.W. Bush still defeated Michael Dukakis with ease in 1988.

“Within a week or so, we were back to doing what we always did: traveling to secondary media markets, beating up on Dukakis, raising money and stirring up the grass roots,” said Ken Khachigian, a Republican lawyer who worked in the Reagan White House and with Bush-Quayle in ’88.

But because of Palin’s intense popularity in some quarters and her recent stumbles and subsequent mocking on Saturday Night Live, she’s become a pop culture sensation as well as a political phenomenon, a development that stands to alter the traditional dynamic.

“There is tremendous potential for Thursday to have impact,” said Tad Devine, a Democratic strategist who was involved in debate preparations for the 1988 and 2000 campaigns. “The interest in Palin transcends politics and that ensures more viewers. And they’re a different kind of viewer.”

With more people watching, including otherwise apolitical voters, more views could be shaped or hardened.

Khachigian and Devine agree that both candidates face similar challenges.

“He has to show some sense of dignity and decorum and at all times appear not condescending,” Khachigian said of Biden.

“She has to appear confident in her own skin and use a nice demeanor to deliver tough words,” he said of Palin. “But the main thing for her is not to appear flustered.”

Said Devine: “They both have to be on guard about falling into stereotypes. For him, that’s that he talks too much and goes off-script. For her it’s that she’s not up to the job.”

“If either reinforces that stereotype," Devine said, "it’s going to be very bad and potentially devastating.”

But Khachigian argues all the anticipation may be for nothing.

“I’d say by Tuesday of next week we’ll all wonder what all the shouting was about. By then we’ll have the next debate [between the presidential candidates], have seen Friday’s [release of monthly] unemployment numbers and seen whether the bailout passes.”

Readers' Comments (1933)

Well it appears as if the "Goebbels News Network" of the AP, Washington POST, NYTimes, LaTimes, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, Time, and Newsweek are starting to really rachet up their support for their hero Obama and their party the Democrats. The "political lynching of Sarah Palin by corrupt liberal news outlets like the Washington POST and the gotcha interviews by Charlie Gibson and now Katie Couric are a disgrace to to this great nation.

And now we are seeing these liberal newsoutlet use "polling" data, some of it obviously cooked, to "move the masses" to demoralize Republicans and to give a boost to the Democrats. It's the same techinque that Joseph Goebbels used in Nazi Germany during the 1930's.

This presidentail election season there is no "free and fair" election occurring when our mass media and their ideology, liberal, is putting out the majority of information in this country. Information that is distorted to the point that it's completely courrupt and useless.

Charlie's request for Sarah to recite the Bush Doctrine and Katie's request for Sarah to recite all the legislative bills that McCain sponsored having to do with deregulation over his 26 years in the Senate are a couple of "gotcha" questions unfairly thrown Sarah's way. We have a long way to go in this country to"restore our free press" from the state that it's in now. Afterall who is the "gatekeeper" when a press goes corrupt? Did our Founding Fathers have a process to deal with that?...................We need one.

Stick a fork in John Mccain hes done. All you right wing bigots can follow George Bush into the gates of hell. Thank god this is the beginning of end of the Republican party. You guys shouldnt have been so racist and evil to Barack Obama, now the whole world hates your party.

NEW YORK — PBS journalist Gwen Ifill, moderator of the upcoming vice presidential debate, dismissed conservative questions about her impartiality because she is writing a book that includes material on Barack Obama.

Ifill said Wednesday that she hasn't even written her chapter on Obama for the book "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," which is to be published by Doubleday on Jan. 20, 2009, the day a new president is inaugurated.

"I've got a pretty long track record covering politics and news, so I'm not particularly worried that one-day blog chatter is going to destroy my reputation," Ifill said. "The proof is in the pudding. They can watch the debate tomorrow night and make their own decisions about whether or not I've done my job."

The day before the Joe Biden-Sarah Palin debate, columnist Michelle Malkin wrote in the New York Post about Ifill's book, saying, "She's so far in the tank for the Democratic presidential candidate, her oxygen delivery line is running out."

John McCain, though, spoke highly of the reporter in an interview with FOX News Channel. "I think Gwen Ifill is a professional and I think she will do a completely objective job because she is a highly respected professional," he said Wednesday.

In its online description of the book, Doubleday says that Ifill "surveys the American political landscape, shedding new light on the impact of Barack Obama's stunning presidential campaign and introducing the emerging young African American politicians forging a bold new path to political power."

Ifill said Obama's story, which she has yet to write, is only a small part of the book, which discusses how politics in the black community have changed since the civil rights era. Among those subjects is Colin Powell, secretary of state in the Bush administration.

The host of PBS' "Washington Week" and senior correspondent on "The NewsHour" said she did not tell the Commission on Presidential Debates about the book. The commission had no immediate comment when contacted by The Associated Press. A spokeswoman for John McCain's campaign did not immediately return phone and e-mail messages.

Ifill's resume includes jobs at The New York Times, the Washington Post and NBC News. She moderated the 2004 vice presidential debate between Dick Cheney and John Edwards.

She said it was the publisher, not herself, who set the Inauguration Day release date. It will be released then whether Obama wins or loses.

Although Malkin raised the topic of Ifill's impartiality the day before the debate, the PBS journalist said that Time magazine noted she was writing a book in August, and that it has been available for pre-sale on Amazon.com. The book also is mentioned in a Sept. 4 interview she gave the Washington Post.

Ifill questions why people assume that her book will be favorable toward Obama.

"Do you think they made the same assumptions about Lou Cannon (who is white) when he wrote his book about Reagan?" said Ifill, who is black. Asked if there were racial motives at play, she said, "I don't know what it is. I find it curious."

All Biden has to do is just show up , and try his best to keep from laughing. Palin has already shown the world she is an unqualified idiot , and she did that all by herself. "ONE HEART BEAT AWAY" ,from a 72 year old unstable Man with a history of Cancer........NO FLIPPING WAY !

All Biden has to do is just show up , and try his best to keep from laughing. Palin has already shown the world she is an unqualified idiot , and she did that all by herself. "ONE HEART BEAT AWAY" ,from a 72 year old unstable Man with a history of Cancer.....

The whole world is eagerly awaiting the comedy of crazy Sarah. We must all savor the event and remember the gift John McCain gave us before Palin goes back to her Alaskan cave.

The "political lynching of Sarah Palin by corrupt liberal news outlets like the Washington POST and the gotcha interviews by Charlie Gibson and now Katie Couric are a disgrace to to this great nation.

Riiiiiight... it was SO UNFAIR to ask Sarah Palin what gave her foreign policy experience!! such a tough question... obviously designed to destroy her... I mean, no one could answer that question coherently!!

Not to mention the incredibly unfair follow up question to "McCain is a Maverick" asking what exactly had McCain done to be a Maverick...

Questions like those could only come from extensive preparation by the evil liberal Media, who is in league with the ghost of Stalin to take over the US from within.

Isn't it ironic that the McCain camp is just now questioning Gwen Ifill's impartiality? This is a paper tiger and is really sad that they will attack anyone, no matter the consequences. The majority of the people now dragging her in the mud never watch PBS and repeat RNC/Rush talking points without having an opinion that wasn't spoon fed to them. I watch PBS because I do agree that NBC/MSNBC is too liberal and FOX is too Rigthwingnut. "Washington Week" hosted by Ifill is the most impartial and mature take on political news on TV. There is adult discussion without the gotcha and spin found on other stations. To see the Rightwingnuts attack her just to try to get an advantage is pathetic and disheartening.

So to be clear on the McCain campaign?s official view of Sarah Palin, she doesn?t have what it takes to do interviews with the mainstream media. They?re too mean and unfair. But she does have what it takes to negotiate an international treaty or see the country through a banking crisis. Talk to Wolf Blitzer? No can do. Help make sure that an India-Pakistan border crisis doesn?t become a nuclear war resulting in the deaths of tens of millions? Sure. She?s up to it---LOL

There is adult discussion without the gotcha and spin found on other stations. To see the Rightwingnuts attack her just to try to get an advantage is pathetic and disheartening.

Haven't you noticed by now that most people are not in the least interested in adult discussions? just look at who has the most ratings in the media to see the level of discourse that the average American is looking for.

Ifill said Wednesday that she hasn't even written her chapter on Obama for the book "The Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama," which is to be published by Doubleday on Jan. 20, 2009, the day a new president is inaugurated.

If I may state the obvious, the fact that Gwen Ifill apparently has a forthcoming book titled Breakthrough: Politics and Race in the Age of Obama is a huge advantage for Sarah Palin. If you look at the demographic breakdowns of any poll, you could probably count on one hand the number of college educated African-American women who are favorably disposed toward Palin. But because of the book, and because Ifill has a reputation as a professional to maintain, she’s now in a situation where she’ll bend over backwards to avoid appearing too hard on Palin.

Meanwhile, if you watch Palin’s interviews you’ll see that she’s perfectly capable of parrying an initial question with some nonsense and then shifting to her pre-prepared talking points. What was so devastating about the Katie Couric interview is that Couric would gently — very gently — prod Palin with follow-ups that revealed she doesn’t know anything about anything. But with this cloud of suspicion hanging over her, Ifill will probably treat Palin with kid gloves and she’ll be able to turn in the sort of competent performances she offered on the Hugh Hewitt and Sean Hannity shows.

Talk to Wolf Blitzer? No can do. Help make sure that an India-Pakistan border crisis doesn?t become a nuclear war resulting in the deaths of tens of millions? Sure. She?s up to it

Right!!

You know that Wolf Blitzer is one mean and evil guy!!... it only he was as sweet as Sean Hannity, maybe Palin would play with him too.

But when it comes to international treaties... Palin mutates into the great man-eating, moose-shooting, tough Mommy she really is!!... it's her alter ego, she developed it the last time Putin was overflying Alaska with his megastealth spaceship and dropped an alpha-rays bomb on Palin's house to kill her, but she survived and became "The Palinator"!!

Stick a fork in John Mccain hes done. All you right wing bigots can follow George Bush into the gates of hell. Thank god this is the beginning of end of the Republican party. You guys shouldnt have been so racist and evil to Barack Obama, now the whole world hates your party.

Since you posted this in multiple threads, I'll repost my reply. Sad creature you are.

That is just some plain bunk. I have never once been critical of him based on his race. A overwelming vast majority of Republicans have not. I've heard more about this supposed racism than any actual proof of it, especially comming from the media. Show some facts, then, maybe you'll have some point in the bunk you just wrote. So far facts are on the Republican's side here, since the Democrat party is the one with a KKK leader as a Congressmen.

Well it appears as if the "Goebbels News Network" of the AP, Washington POST, NYTimes, LaTimes, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, Time, and Newsweek are starting to really rachet up their support for their hero Obama and their party the Democrats. The "political lynching of Sarah Palin by corrupt liberal news outlets like the Washington POST and the gotcha interviews by Charlie Gibson and now Katie Couric are a disgrace to to this great nation.

The disgrace to this nation is someone who uses POW to mask a series of lies. An America that tries to bully the world and start wars of aggression is not what I want.

A running mate who is as empty as most of her state.

Curious you pick Goebbels - he was a fascist, and that's the direction our country has been pulled toward - fascism.

Cracks me up - "the AP, Washington POST, NYTimes, LaTimes, CNN, MSNBC, NBC, CBS, ABC, Time, and Newsweek " - wow. What does that leave? Ah, the organs of "the Ministry of Truth" from George Orwell - the Murdoch-owned Fox and NY Post.

What was so devastating about the Katie Couric interview is that Couric would gently — very gently — prod Palin with follow-ups that revealed she doesn’t know anything about anything. But with this cloud of suspicion hanging over her, Ifill will probably treat Palin with kid gloves and she’ll be able to turn in the sort of competent performances she offered on the Hugh Hewitt and Sean Hannity shows.

Exactly... if there are tough follow-up questions for Palin, then it is the media that is unfair. If there are follow-up questions for Biden, then it is fine because he should be ready.

Be sure that no matter how Palin does, the right wing will say that the moderator was a left wing hack... that is a given, they are already writting the article about how unfair the debate was, 12 hours before it even started.

Sarah Palin: Less curious than George. Biden should talk about his "Violence Against Women" legislation, his support of Title IX vs. McCain's record, his record on Early Childhood Education, his Equal Pay for Women legislation, healthcare, and many other pieces of legislation he and his party have advanced over the years for working women and their families (i.e., increasing the minimum wage, extending unemployment benefits, passing family leave legislation, and so on). He should also talk about his support of legislation cracking down on sweatshops that abuse working women and children. And then remind America of the Republican Party's opposition to virtually all of the above. No wisecracks, no jokes about Palin, make it all about policy, all about legislation, all about things that matter to women with families. He'll do fine. Then ask Gov. Palin about her record regarding women and families. Hear the crickets?